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In 2025 the company Colossal Biosciences announced three pups made to resemble the dire wolf, an Ice Age predator extinct for more than 10,000 years. They are grey wolves with 20 edits to their DNA.

Colossal Biosciences (2025)

ScienceNature

The story behind the card

The company read dire wolf DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth found in Ohio and a 72,000-year-old skull fragment from Idaho. Its scientists then made 20 changes to 14 genes in grey wolf cells, aiming for traits such as a larger body and a pale coat, cloned embryos from those cells and had them carried by domestic dogs. Two males, Romulus and Remus, were born in October 2024 and a female, Khaleesi, in January 2025; the names come from Roman legend and from Game of Thrones. Many scientists outside the company said the animals are genetically modified grey wolves rather than dire wolves, because the edits cover only a tiny part of the genetic differences between the two species.

Türkçe oku
Colossal Biosciences şirketi 2025'te, soyu 10.000 yılı aşkın süre önce tükenmiş bir buzul çağı yırtıcısı olan korkunç kurda benzetilmiş üç yavru duyurdu. Yavrular aslında DNA'sında 20 değişiklik yapılmış gri kurtlardır.

Şirket, korkunç kurdun DNA'sını Ohio'da bulunan 13.000 yıllık bir dişten ve Idaho'dan çıkan 72.000 yıllık bir kafatası parçasından okudu. Ardından şirketin bilim insanları gri kurt hücrelerinde 14 gende 20 değişiklik yaptı; amaç daha iri bir gövde ve açık renkli tüy gibi özelliklerdi. Bu hücrelerden klonlanan embriyoları evcil köpekler taşıyıp doğurdu. Erkek yavrular Romulus ile Remus Ekim 2024'te, dişi Khaleesi ise Ocak 2025'te doğdu; adlar Roma efsanesinden ve Game of Thrones dizisinden geliyor. Şirket dışındaki pek çok bilim insanı bu hayvanların korkunç kurt değil, genleri değiştirilmiş gri kurt olduğunu söyledi; çünkü yapılan değişiklikler iki tür arasındaki genetik farkların çok küçük bir bölümünü kapsıyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Dire wolf
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